A blockbuster Billionaires’ Row office refinancing led May’s largest loans as lenders also placed big bets on office-to-residential conversions, logistics and other well-located Manhattan office properties. The month’s five biggest deals totaled more than $3.1 billion as borrowers tapped lenders for everything from refinancings to construction and acquisition debt.
The biggest transaction was the $1.8 billion CMBS refinancing of the Soloviev Group’s 9 West 57th Street, on the heels of a record-breaking lease in the trophy office tower. Meanwhile, Apollo Global Management backed one of the city’s largest office conversions with a $420 million construction loan for RXR’s 61 Broadway. In the Bronx, a logistics hub landed a $380 million refinancing, and two Midtown properties — Sovereign Partners’ Fifth Avenue acquisition and Gary Barnett’s growing Park Avenue assemblage — also secured nine-figure loans.
Here are the top five real estate loans for May.
Soloviev score | $1.8B | Midtown
Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citi Real Estate Funding originated a $1.8 billion CMBS loan to refinance the Soloviev Group’s Billionaires’ Row office property. The five-year loan for 9 West 57th Street carries a 4.97 percent interest rate and values the trophy tower at $3.9 billion upon stabilization, the landlord announced. The fresh financing replaced an existing $1.2 billion mortgage and will net Soloviev $526 million in cash, S&P Global reported. News of the refinancing came a month after 28-year-old Mexican billionaire Gonzalo Hevia Baillères’ holding company inked a record-setting $327.50-per-square-foot lease for 5,000 square feet on the top floor of the 50-story tower.
Conversion cash | $420M | Financial District
Apollo Global Management provided a $420 million construction loan for RXR’s 33-story, 796-unit conversion project at 61 Broadway in the Financial District. The debt package also includes a $55 million tax equity investment from J.P. Morgan Chase. RXR will use the 467m tax abatement program for office-to-residential conversions, which designates approximately 200 units for affordable housing. Scott Rechler’s firm filed plans in December to convert part of the 670,000-square-foot building into housing, though the firm didn’t reveal the full scope of the plan at that time. RXR is teaming with One Investment Management on the redevelopment.
Warehouse windfall | $379M | Mott Haven
Strategic Value Partners provided a $379.1 million loan for Dune Real Estate Partners and Turnbridge Equities’ Bronx Logistics Center. The fresh financing for 980 East 149th Street replaced a $381 million loan from KKR. Turnbridge began assembling the 14.2-acre Bronx site in 2018, spending a total of $174 million for the purchase of five parcels, property records show. In 2020, the firm entered into a joint venture with Dune Real Estate Partners to develop a last-mile distribution center. The 1.3 million-square-foot Class-A industrial complex has two 250,000-square-foot warehouse floors and 730,000 square feet of parking.
Sovereign debt | $268M | Midtown East
Ladder Capital provided a $268 million bridge loan for Sovereign Partners’ purchase of the 40-story office building at 575 Fifth Avenue. Cyrus and Darius Sakhai’s firm snapped up the Class A tower for $378 million. The property includes a 500,000-square-foot office condominium and 40,000-square-foot retail condo at the base. The building at the corner of East 47th Street is 87 percent occupied and sits across the street from Extell Development’s 570 Fifth Avenue, where Gary Barnett is planning a 29-story office and retail project.
Barnett bucks | $246M | Midtown
JPMorgan Chase provided a $246 million loan for Gary Barnett’s massive Park Avenue assemblage. In May, the Extell Development founder paid $500 million for the development site at 405-417 Park Avenue, which spans the full blockfront between East 54th and East 55th streets. He also acquired the former Friars Club building at 57 East 55th Street for $19 million and the nearby American Jewish Congress building at 165 East 56th Street for $39 million, expanding the assemblage. The combined site has about 527,000 square feet of as-of-right development potential, which could increase to roughly 700,000 square feet of rentable office space with additional air rights.
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